1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a contents management system which suitably manages various media kinds of digitalized contents, to a contents management method, and to a computer program. More particularly, the invention relates to a contents management system which suitably manages enormous scattered contents, to a contents management method, and to a computer program.
Specifically, the invention relates to a contents management system which suitably manages contents scattered and stored in various apparatuses such that desired contents is easily searched from the contents, to a contents management method, and to a computer program. More particularly, the invention relates to a contents management system which provides a user with a clue or guide for allowing the user to reach desired contents under a computing circumstance in which various media kinds of contents exist, to a contents management method, and to a computer program.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent days, with the rapid progress in an information technology (IT) field, various computer systems have been developed and manufactured, and have been come into use in a university or other research institutes, an office of a company, and a home. On a computer, in addition to a document file of a text format, various kinds of media, such as sound, images, natural languages, and the like, are digitalized and mathematically handled, such that a high-speed processing, such as edition/processing, storage, management, communication, and sharing of information, can be performed. As such, on the computer system, various media kinds of contents can be handled.
Further, in recent years, an information communication network from a private-network, such as a domestic LAN or the like, to a wide area network, such as Internet or the like, is set up. For example, to the domestic LAN, all apparatuses, such as a camcorder, a digital camera, a TV receiver, a DVD player, an HD recorder, and the like, in addition to a PC or a PDA, are connected, and these apparatuses can store generated or acquired contents, share them with one another, and utilize the contents by reproduction or the like. In addition, a user can obtain desired contents from a remote contents server. In summary, in a network in which all apparatuses are connected, various media kinds of enormous contents can be used.
A computing circumstance in which various media kinds of enormous contents can be handled seems to be convenient seemingly. However, how to manage enormous contents is problematic. In an extreme case, astronomical numbers of contents are scattered on a global scale, and thus it may be difficult for a user to reach desired contents. Accordingly, the user loses track of the desired contents.
At present time, on a desktop screen in which a graphical user interface (GUI) is provided, various resource objects are displayed with icons, and thus it is convenient in that various resource objects can be handled by an intuitive input operation. However, these icons do not provide the clue or guide for allowing the user to reach the desired contents. As a result, the user may not effectively utilize available contents, and the contents may be stored away.
For example, an information search system has been suggested in which a search navigation is provided to correctly feedback which portion of stored information corresponds to information represented on the system by a searcher (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-44759). In the information search system, stored information is divided by individual fixed viewpoints, and a view for displaying each element is prepared for each viewpoint. The views dynamically change in connection with one another in response to the numbers of search result and a view selection processing of the user in course of search. Further, for the collection of information limited by the searcher, the feedback of information searched by applying the previous view is performed, and a new limitation condition is given. The feedback becomes a clue for finding out a limitation condition, which is not intended at first, and thus the searcher, who does not have expert knowledge in the technical field, is helped to find out a desired main subject in accordance with a keyword given in generous examination.
However, in the information search system, for the user, who does not have a guide on search, for example, which media kind of contents is available, the clue or guide for finding out the desired contents from a massive contents storage space may not be provided.
Further, a contents search apparatus has been suggested in which a keyword is automatically extracted by performing sound recognition or image recognition on input information, such as sound information or image information, so as to efficiently search desired contents (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-229180). In the contents search apparatus, for example, the keyword is acquired through the sound recognition of the input sound information, the keyword is compared with a keyword, which is stored and managed in correlation with contents in a keyword-contents correlation table, and the contents corresponding to the keyword of the sound recognition result is outputted as the search result.
However, in the contents search apparatus, the keyword search is basic, and thus the user, who does not have the guide on search (that is, does not even have a technique for assigning the keyword) may not be provided with the clue or guide for finding out the desired contents from the massive contents storage space. Further, in the contents search apparatus, it is assumed that the keyword of the contents to be searched is registered in the keyword-contents correlation table. It may be impossible to perform a keyword registration processing on all the contents, which are scattered in the massive contents storage space, and thus the application range is restricted.